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Dhekiakhowa Bornamghor

Dhekiakhowa Bornamghor
Established in 1461 A.D. by Sri Sri Madhabdev, the disciple of Sri Sri Sankardev (the preacher & propounder of Vaishnavism in Assam & the father figure of Assamese culture) Dhekiakhowa Bornamghor in Jorhat, Assam. It is located at Dhekiakhowa village of Jorhat, 15 km towards the east of Jorhat town, 3.5 km away from National Highway 37. It is called a Bornamghar because of its historical association and large campus. A Namghor is a socio religious centre where assamese peoples assemble to pray and to discuss religious matters. The Namghors follow the "Ek xoron hari naam dharma, founded by the great saint, scholar, social and religious reformer Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardev. This form of religion is also popularly known as "Mahapuruxism" or ''Vaishnavism'' which only worships Lord Krishna

The namghar is spread over 13 bighas of land. The namghar and other facilities are maintained by a managing committee with donations from devotees. Besides the maintenance of the complex, the managing committee sponsors various social and cultural programs.

Hostory Of Dhekiakhowa Bornamghor : Once Vaishnav saint Madhavdev reached the village where the Bor Namghor now stood. He arrived at the hut of a poor elderly couple in this village. On finding the Mahapurush himself in their hut, their joy knew no bounds. But was worried about entertaining their guest as they didn't have any food to offer him. The rice they collected by begging that day was hardly enough even for the two of them. God had been so kind to give them the opportunity of serving a meal to the Mahapurush which they were not capable of doing. The old couple finally decided to cook and serve the rice to the guest and stay hungry themselves.

In the mean time, Madhavdev went to a stream that flowed by the hut to take a bath. This was actually a river, which dried up looking like a stream during the winters. Sitting on a piece of driftwood he took a bath. That piece of driftwood still lies in a corner of a room in the Bor Namghor. Devotees pay their homage by covering it with gamosa and offering prayers.

Madhavdev relished the meal of steamed rice. The poor couple somehow managed one meal for their guest and now planned for the next one. Those days, braids made of human hair were popularly used by women as wigs. Artificial hair was not available back then. This was known as 'seng sooli'. The poor old woman cut her hair off, braided them and sold them in the nearby market. She then bought some food grains, salt, oil etc with that money and asked her husband to collect some ferns which were available by the banks of the river.

The old man collected some 'dhekia' (ferns). While Madhavdev cooked a meal of rice and curry of dhekia, he asked the old man to inform the villagers to assemble at the old couple's hut. Villagers  gathered around Madhavdev. He poured some oil on a peel of 'Outenga' (Elephant Apple) and lit a saki, (lamp). Preaching on Vaishnavism, he requested the villagers to tend the lamp so that it was never put out. This lamp is burning even today in the Bor Namghor
 
Madhavdev relished the meal of rice and dhekia curry that day and since then the village came to be  known as Dhekiakhowa. As a mark of gratitude to the old woman, he named the stream by the hut as 'Buri Diha'. During summer this stream swells up turning into a big river submerging its banks.

Madhavdev left this village after bringing unity to the villagers and organising them into Vaishnavism, proceeding to yet another village to bring more people under the same umbrella of Ekxaran Harinaam Dharma. He was soon united with his Guru Shankardev and together they continued their long and arduous journey.

 The old couple passed away. The villagers constructed a Namghor on the spot where the hut stood. They named it 'Burha Namghor' in memory of the old couple. In due course the name got converted to Bor Namghor. It is said that the main pillar of the namghar is made of a Sal tree. One night one of the bhakats (monk) of the namghar saw in his dream that the river near the Bor namghar ( known as Dhekiakhowa jaam ) is flowing in opposite direction and is carrying a Sal tree mean to be for the construction of the Bor namghar. Next day when people saw that dream to be true, they made the main pillers of the Bor namghar from the tree.
 
 A hundreds of years old Dhekia flower, that is being preserved in the Bor Namghor. It is believed that a Dhekia flower is not easy to find. Flowering of Dhekia itself is a rare phenomenon.

 Dhekiakhowa Bornamghor's Vaishnavite flame creates record for burning bright for 484 years. The flame lit by Vaishnav saint Mahapurush Sri Sri Madhabdev in 1528 set a new national record for burning continuously for 484 years.
 'India Book of Records' has been recognized as the 'lamp burning continuously for the longest duration'.
 
 Dhekiakhowa Bornamghor can accommodate hundreds of devotees at a time. During the month of Bhadra, thousands of devotees take part in the Naam Praxango, in three batches a day. Peoples are coming from various parts of Assam during this time.
 
 Festivals are celebrated in Dhekiakhowa Bor Namghor :
 
 1. Month long Paal Naam, during the month of Bhadra (from mid August to mid September).
 2. Srimanta Shankardev's birth anniversary, during the month of Aahin (middle of September to middle of October).
 3. Madhavdev's birth anniversary, during the month of Jeth (from 15th of May to 15th of June).
 4. Bhawona Utsav, during the month of Soat or Chaitra (from 15th of March to 15th of April).

How To Reach Dhekiakhowa Bornamghor :

1) By Road : Dhekiakhowa Bornamghor is well connected by road service with other parts of Assam. While coming from Johar town hrough N.H. - 37 towards Sivasagar, after crossing Ladoigarh police station the main entrance gate of Bornamghor situated. Around 3.5 km away from main gate the the Bornamghor is situated.

2) By Train : Jorhat town is well connected with rail service across the country. Daily Guwahati-Jorhat Janasatabdi express runs from Guwahati early in the morning. The other railway junction is Mariani which is almost 30 km far from the city. All the major trains like Rajdhani Express stops in Mriani station.

3) By Air : Jorhat having own airport in Rowriah which is well connect with rest of the country. Rowriah is alomost 10 km far from the city

For more details about Jorhat click here.

Photos of Dhekiakhowa Bornamghor
Dhekiakhowa nam...
Dhekiakhowa nam...
    
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